Abstract Objective: This study aimed to develop and internally validate a prediction model for estimating the risk of spontaneous abortion in early pregnancy. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 9,895 pregnant women who received prenatal care at a maternal health facility in China from January 2021 to December 2022. Data on demographics, medical history, lifestyle factors, and mental health were collected. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to develop the prediction model with spontaneous abortion as the outcome. The model was internally validated using bootstrapping techniques, and its discrimination and calibration were assessed. Results: The spontaneous abortion rate was 5.95% (589/9,895) 1. The final prediction model included nine variables: maternal age, history of embryonic arrest, thyroid dysfunction, polycystic ovary syndrome, assisted reproduction, exposure to pollution, recent home renovation, depression score, and stress score 1. The model showed good discrimination with a C-statistic of 0.88 (95% CI 0.87‒0.90) 1, and its calibration was adequate based on the Hosmer-Lemeshow test (p = 0.27). Conclusions: The prediction model demonstrated good performance in estimating spontaneous abortion risk in early pregnancy based on demographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors. Further external validation is recommended before clinical application.

Different Al2O3 carriers were synthesized by co-precipitation and sol-gel method. From them, 4%NiO-20%MoO3/Al2O3 catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, NH3 temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and H2-temperature programmed reduction (TPR) and subsequently used for selective hydrogenation of naphthalene to high-value tetralin. The results showed that Ni-Mo/so-ge Al2O3 (900) exhibited better catalytic performance than Ni Mo/commercial Al2O3, achieving 99.56% naphthalene conversion and 99.43% tetralin selectivity.

ABSTRACT Objective There is currently no consensus regarding the optimal management of acute suppurative thyroiditis (AST) secondary to pyriform sinus fistula (PSF). To investigate the benefits and adverse events of aspiration with or without lavage for the treatment of AST secondary to PSF. Subjects and methods This was a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with AST secondary to PSF who were admitted at the Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between August 2012 and December 2018. Clinical information, procedural data, and imaging data were analyzed. Results Seven patients (five women; mean age, 16.9 ± 6.3 years; range, 8-26 years) were included. The patients most presented with anterior neck pain and swelling (n = 7), fever (n = 7), or odynophagia (n = 5). Six cases of AST occurred on the left side of the thyroid and 1 on the right. All patients had thyroid abscess. AST was diagnosed by ultrasound-guided needle aspiration cytology in all cases. PSF was diagnosed during the inflammatory stage in five patients and during the quiescent stage in two. All patients were treated with empiric antibiotics. Needle aspiration without lavage was performed in three cases. Needle aspiration with lavage was performed in four cases. Repeat aspiration was performed in three cases. All patients recovered completely, with no procedure-related complications. During 18.3 ± 7.8 months of follow-up, AST recurred in one case. Excision of the PSF was performed in another case. Conclusion Ultrasound-guided aspiration with or without lavage had a good treatment effect and without adverse events for the management of AST secondary to PSF.

Abstract In this paper, a novel zwitterionic copolymer AM/SSS/THDAB clay hydration dispersion inhibitor was synthesized by copolymerization of tris hydroxyethyl diallyl ammonium bromide (THDAB), sodium p-styrene sulfonate (SSS) and acrylamide (AM) initiated in an aqueous solution. The copolymer was characterized by FT-IR, GPC, TGA-DSC and SEM. Results demonstrated that molecular weight of AM/SSS/THDAB was 43674 g/mol and its temperature resistance ability was up to 225 °C. Evaluation experiments showed that AM/SSS/THDAB has an excellent clay hydration inhibitive performance. Methods including particle size analysis and SEM were utilized to study its dispersion inhibition mechanism by using sodium montmorillonite (Na-MMT). Results indicated that the micro-structure of Na-MMT has been successfully changed by AM/SSS/THDAB. In a word, the superior inhibition property makes the novel clay hydration dispersion inhibitor promised in water-based drilling fluids.

The composite electrode material of manganese oxide supported on poly glucose (PGS) was prepared by using KMnO4 as manganese source. In order to study the influence of the support on the structure and properties of the composite electrode materials, the changes of the composition of the composite electrode materials were investigated in different weight ratio of KMnO4/PGS (3:1, 3:3, 3:5, 3:7, 3:9). The characterization results of XRD, Raman special and XPS indicated the composition of manganese oxides was greatly influenced by the content of PGS. When the PGS content is lower, the composition of manganese oxide in hybrid material is single-component oxide (MnOOH or Mn3O4). With the increasing PGS content, a mixture of Mn3O4 and MnCO3 was observed, furthermore proportion of MnCO3 in mixture also increased, and up to higher PGS content (KMnO4/PGS=3:9), single-component MnCO3 was founded on hybrid material. In addition, the change of composition of hybrid materials also led to an obvious difference in electrochemical performance. With the increase of PGS content, the specific capacitance of hybrid materials increases firstly, and reaches the maximum with the weight ratio of KMnO4/PGS equal to 3:3, and then gradually decreases. This was attributed to the higher electrochemical performance of Mn3O4 than that of MnOOH and MnCO3.

ABSTRACT Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis is a type of red alga that contains seaweed polysaccharide agar. In this study, a novel non-agar seaweed polysaccharide fraction named GCP (short of crude polysaccharide obtained from Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis) was isolated from Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis. Structural analysis showed that GCP shows triple helical chain conformation when dissolved in water and has many branches and long side chains. Also, 1→3 linkage is the major linkage and the sugar structures are galactopyranose configurations linked by β-type glycosidic linkages. Two macromolecular substance fractions (GCP-1 and GCP-2) were purified by DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow column chromatography. Moreover, a splenocyte damage assay and splenocyte proliferation assay were used to analyse the bioactivities of GCP, GCP-1 and GCP-2. It was demonstrated that polysaccharides could protect splenocyte damaged by H2O2; GCP-2 shows a greatest protection rate, that is, 92.8%, which significantly enhanced the splenocyte proliferation, and GCP showed the highest proliferation rate, 9.30%. The results suggested that this type of novel non-agar polysaccharide displayed remarkable antioxidant and immunomodulatory activities and early alkali treatment could decrease the activities. It may represent a potential material for health food and clinical medicines.

Research in convective heat transfer using suspensions of nanometer-sized solid particles in base liquids started only over the past decade. Recent investigations on nanofluids, as such suspensions are often called, indicate that the suspended nanoparticles markedly change the transport properties and heat transfer characteristics of the suspension. This first part of the review summarizes recent research on theoretical and numerical investigations of various thermal properties and applications of nanofluids.

Research in convective heat transfer using suspensions of nanometer-sized solid particles in base liquids started only over the past decade. Recent investigations on nanofluids, as such suspensions are often called, indicate that the suspended nanoparticles markedly change the transport properties and heat transfer characteristics of the suspension. This second part of the review covers fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids in forced and free convection flows and potential applications of nanofluids. Opportunities for future research are identified as well.